Apple Has Been Busy: New Sapphire Glass iPhone, Deal With Haier For Smart iOS Appliances and a new look iTunes

Apple has been busy with the Company announcing a new version of iTunes, a deal with appliance maker Haier to deliver smart iOS enabled appliances, they have also lodged a patent for a sapphire glass iPhone.

Recently Haier announced it had become the only appliance maker to globally pass Apple's official MFi authorization and certification tests. Haier's Tianzun air conditioner became the first appliance to be labelled with the official Apple MFi certification logo.

We can also reveal that Apple is working with various Chinese appliance companies, including Haier, in order to grow its smart home business in China.

This week Apple was granted a patent for a glass iPhone that is manufactured by fusing glass structures together that contain all the internal circuitry.

The proposed design will be durable and lightweight and the compound silicon allows Apple to shape the device to any shape or size.

Jonathan Ive is listed as one of the inventors of the technology.

An extract from the patent explains Apple now has the rights covering "An electronic device [which] may have a glass housing structures. The glass housing structures may be used to cover a display and other internal electronic device components. The glass housing structure may have multiple glass pieces that are joined using a glass fusing process."

It continues: "Multiple planar glass members may be fused together to form a five-sided box in which electronic components may be mounted. Opaque masking material and collared glass may be used to create portions of the glass housing structures that hide internal device components from view."

Closer to home Apple has launched a new version of iTunes which brings a revamp of its often-overlooked iTunes Extras features for digital movies.

With version 11.3, iTunes Extras brings free bonus features for HD movies, will also extending the functionality to purchased movies on the Apple TV platform.